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t^x<xxy  of  Che  theological  ^eminarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


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PRESENTED  BY 

Mrs.    Winthro-'3  W.    Aldrich 


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JUL  .o  19^1  1 

AVAY  OF  SALVATION 

FAMILIARLY  KXPLAINED, 

IN  A  CONVERSATION 

BETVVEKN  A  FATHER  AND  HIS  CHILDREN. 

By   the  Rev.  A.  A.  ALEXANDER,  D.D. 

PHILADELPinA : 

PRESBYTERL^N  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION. 


I- 


THE 

WAY    OF    SALVATION, 
PART    I. 


[The  names  of  the  children  were  John,  fifteen  years 
of  age  ;  Benjamin,  thirteen  ;  Rufiis,  ten ;  and  Mary, 
eight.  The  speakers  will  be  designated  by  tlie  initial 
letter  of  each  name ;  the  letter  F,  standing  for  father.] 


F.  Come,  my  children,  as  our  evening 
meal  is  over,  and  the  weather  is  serene  and 
temperate,  let  us  take  our  seats  under  the 
ghady  trees,  which  overhang  the  brook,  at 
the  back  of  the  garden,  and  spend  an  hour 
in  conversation. 


4  THE  WAY  OF 

M.  O  how  I  am  delighted  to  hear  you 
eay  this !  I  remember  how  many  pleasant 
evenings  we  spent  under  those  large  oaks, 
last  summer,  and  how  many  pleasant  stories 
you  told  us,  all  out  of  the  Bible. 

J.  I  have  made  it  a  practice  to  spend 
some  time  in  that  retired  spot,  evening  and 
morning,  for  some  weeks  past,  and  I  have 
wondered  how  so  many  people  could  prefer 
lying  a-bed,  to  breathing  the  sweet  air  of  the 
garden  and  groves,  early  in  the  morning. 

B.  I  love  the  place  too,  there  are  so 
many  birds,  warbling  their  notes  in  the 
branches ;  and  so  many  gay  butterflies  sail- 
ing through  the  air,  and  gracefully  lighting 
on  the  ground. 

R.  Father,  don't  you  remember  what  a 
nice  summer-house  we  built,  last  summer, 
and  how  we  covered  it  with  boughs,  and 
gathered  the  green  soft  moss  for  seats  J 

M.  O  yes,  I  remember,  that  I  gathered  a 
basket  full  of  wild  flowers,  and  stuck  thera 


5W 


SALVATION.  5 

all  around  the  summer-house,  just  as  if  they 
had  grown  there;  but  the  next  time  ue 
came,  they  were  all  drooping,  and  almost 
withered. 

F.  And  have  you  forgotten  what  I  said 
these  fading-  flowers  were  an  emblem  of  J 

M.     I  don't  know  what  an  emblem  means. 

F.  An  emblem,  my  daughter,  is  any 
natural  or  visible  thing,  which  has  a  resem- 
blance to  some  moral  or  spiritual  thing. 

J.  I  remember  well,  that  father  said  those 
flowers  were  an  emblem  of  youth  and  beaut}^ 
which  must  soon  wither  and  fade,  as  did 
these  flowers. 

B.  Father,  will  you  now  tell  us  some 
pleasant  story  ] 

F.  My  son,  we  must  not  be  too  fond  of 
pleasant  things.  We  must  think  of  what 
will  be  profitable.  Of  late  I  have  felt  a 
great  solicitude  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls 
of  my  dear  children,  and  I  wish  now  to  speak 
to  you  of  your  need  of  a  Saviour. 


6  THE  WAY  OF 

During  this  conversation,  they  arrived  at 
the  place,  and  took  their  seats. 

J.  I  am  ghd  to  hear  you  mention  that 
subject,  for  I  heard  Mr.  Ambrose  preach, 
some  weeks  ago,  on  the  "worth  of  tlie  soul." 
He  said  that  it  was  more  valuable  than  a 
thousand  worlds,  and  the  loss  of  it  could 
never  be  repaired.  I  have  been  thinkingf 
much  about  it;  and  without  my  seeking,  it 
comes  into  my  mind,  and  all  this  day,  my 
thoughts  have  been  running  upon  it. 

M.  I  wish,  father,  you  would  tell  me  what 
the  soul  is.  I  never  s^w  my  own  soul,  or 
the  soul  of  any  one.  I  do  not  know  what  it 
is  like. 

F.  On  many  subjects,  we  are  all  children 
alike.  My  dear  daughter,  I  know  as  little 
of  the  nature  of  a  soul  as  you  do.  A  spirit 
cannot  be  seen  nor  felt,  because  it  has  no 
flesh  nor  bones.  But  we  know  that  the 
soul  exists,  as  certainly  as  we  know  anything 
whatever. 


SALVATION.  / 

M.  I  know  what  I  see  and  feel,  better 
than  that  I  have  a  soul.  This  book  which 
I  hold  in  my  hand,  I  can  see  and  feel,  but 

cannot  see  and  feel  my  soul.  I  feel  surer 
Jiat  I  hold  this  book,  than  I  can  be  of  what  1 
never  saw. 

F.  My  child,  you  deceive  yourself  Who 
sees  that  book  1 

M.  Why  I  see  it  with  my  eyes,  and  feel 
it  with  my  fingers. 

F.  But  who  is  this  you  call  11  Is  not 
that  your  soul  1  If  you  had  nothing  besides 
your  body,  you  would  know  no  more  about 
that  book  than  the  stone  under  your  feet  does. 
Your  eyes,  and  your  fingers,  are  only  instru- 
ments that  bring  sight  and  feeling  to  your 
spiritual  part ;  which,  in  mankind,  is  called 
the  mind  or  soul.  If  there  is  any  difference, 
we  are  more  certain  that  we  have  a  soul,  or 
liiat  the  soul  is  ourself,  than  of  any  other 
thing;  for  every  time  we  see,  or  feel,  or 
hear,  or  taste,  or  smell,  we  are  conscious^ 


8  THE  WAY  OP 

that  is,  we  are  certain  in  ourselves,  that  our 
soul  sees,  feels,  hears,  tastes,  and  smells. 
Try,  Mary,  to  stop  thinking  for  one  moment. 

M.  I  cannot,  for  when  I  try,  I  am  all  the 
time  thinking-  about  trying, 

F.  Well,  can  any  thing  think  but  a  soul  1 
Every  moment,  therefore,  you  have  a  cer- 
tainty that  you  have  a  soul. 

M.  But  after  all,  I  do  not  know  what 
the  soul  is. 

F.  No,  nor  do  I,  except  that  it  is  that 
which  thinks,  and  feels.  But  we  know  as 
little  of  what  we  see  and  feel.  Here  is  a 
pebble ;  you  see  it  is  white  and  round.  You 
take  it  in  your  hand,  and  it  is  smooth  and  fills 
up  a  certain  space,  so  that  you  cannot  shut 
your  hand  close.  But  what  is  that  which  is 
round  and  white  and  smooth  and  extended  1 
You  can  tell  no  more  about  it,  than  you  can 
of  your  soul. 

R.     Father,  does  the  soul  grow  like  the 


SALVATION.  n 

body!  and  is  the  soul  of  a  man  larger  than 
that  of  a  child  ? 

F.     You  have  fallen  into  a  common  error, 
i^ou  are  endeavouring  to  give  to  a  spirit  the 
properties  of  a  body.     Size  and  shape  belonc, 
to  matter  but  not  to  spirit.     B.it  in  one  sense" 
the  soul  grows  as  much  as  the  body,  and  may 
grow   long   after   the    body  has  reached  its 
full   size.     The  soul    increases  or  grows  in 
two  ways ;  first,  its  faculties  are  by  degrees 
brought    into    exercise    and    become    more  ■ 
vigorous   from  day  to  day;    and  again,  the 
mmd  IS  enlarged   by  an  increase  of  know- 
ledge. 

J.  I  like  to  hear  you  converse  about 
the  nature  of  the  soul,  but  what  I  most  want 
to  hear  is  about  the  salvation  of  the  soul ; 
for  what  good  would  it  do  me  to  know  ever 
so  much  about  my  soul,  if  at  last  it  should  be 
lost?  I  cannot  help  thinking  about  our  pas- 
tor's  text~»What  is  a  man  profited,  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own 


10  THE  WAY  OF 

soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul  V 

F.  I  am  pleased,  my  son,  to  hear  you 
speak  so  seriously  about  the  worth  of  the 
soul.  To  secure  its  salvation  is  surejy  the 
one  thing  needful. 

B.  I  wish,  Father,  you  would  explain 
how  the  soul  came  to  be  in  need  of  salvation ; 
for  our  pastor  said  that  if  it  were  not  lost,  it 
could  not  be  saved.  Now,  I  thought  that  if 
it  never  had  been  lost,  it  would  be  sure  to  be 
saved.  And  would  not  man  have  been  saved, 
if  he  had  never  sinned  } 

F.  He  would  have  been  safe  and  happy 
as  the  angels  are,  but  he  could  not  with 
propriety  be  said  to  be  saved.  A  man  who 
has  never  been  sick  is  well,  but  you  cannot 
say  he  is  healed.  That  applies  only  to  such 
as  have  been  sick.  To  save  any  one  is  to 
deliver  him  from  ruin,  into  wliich  he  has 
fallen  or  to  which  he  is  exposed.  None  can 
be  saved,  therefore,  but  lost  sinners. 


^n 


SAIiVATION.  11 

B.  I  understand  this  now  ;  but  how  did 
we  all  become  sinners?  A  holy  God  could 
not  create  us  sinners. 

F.  No,  my  son,  to  say  this  would  be  blas- 
phemy. God  created  every  thing  good  ac- 
cording- to  its  kind.  And  it  is  declared  that 
he  made  man  "  in  his  own  image,  and  after 
his  own  likeness ;"  that  is,  he  was  created  in 
knowledge  and  holiness.  I  think,  Benjamin, 
you  could  answer  your  own  questions  if  you 
would  only  recollect  your  Catechism,  which 
you  repeated  last  evening.  "Did  our  first 
parents  continue  in  the  estate  wherein  they 
were  created  ]" 

B.  "Our  first  parents  being  left  to  the 
freedom  of  their  own  will,  fell  from  the 
estate  wherein  they  were  created,  by  sinning 
against  God." 

F.  Very  well,  there  you  have  it;  and 
what  is  the  Scripture  proof  which  you 
learnt ] 

B.     "As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 


12  THE  WAY  OP 

wotld,  and  death  by  sin,  so  death  passed  upon 
all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned." 

B.  But,  Father,  how  could  one  man's 
sinning-  make  all  men  sinners  ] 

F.  In  two  ways.  All  Adam's  posterity  are 
made  sinners  by  his  sinning:  First,  because  he 
stood  for  them,  and  acted  for  them,  in  what  ia 
called  the  Jirst  covenant:  that  is,  the  ag-ree- 
ment  which  God  made  with  Adam  that  if  he 
obeyed  him  he  should  live,  but  that  if  he  dis- 
obeyed him,  he  sliould  die.  Thus,  when  Adam 
sinned,  and  so  broke  that  covenant,  all  mankind 
sinned  in  him,  or  his  sin  was  theirs  also,  because 
they  were  included  in  the  covenant.  Second- 
ly, our  first  parents  having  lost  the  image  of 
God,  and  corrupted  their  nature,  their  pos- 
terity are  all  born  in  the  same  destitute  and 
corrupt  state.  What  other  text  have  you 
on  this  subject] 

B.  We  "  were  by  nature,  children  of 
wrath,  even  as  others."     "I  was  shapen  ia 


SALVATION.  13 

iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me." 

M.  Why,  I  thought  some  people  were 
good  and  some  bad. 

F.  No,  my  child,  "  there  is  none  risfht- 
eous,  no  not  one."  "  All  have  gone  out  of 
the  way."  "There  is  none  that  doeth 
good." 

M.  Dear  father,  are  you  not  good  ]  Yes 
you  are,  I  know  you  are. 

F.  No,  my  child,  I  am  by  nature  no  bet- 
ter than  others,  and  if  I  now  differ  from  the 
worst  of  men,  it  is  all  owing  to  grace.  "  By 
the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am."  I  have 
daily  evidence  of  the  most  convincing  kind, 
•*  that  in  me,  that  is  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth  no 
good  thing."  For  every  good  thought  and 
feeling,  for  every  good  word  and  work,  I  am 
indebted  to  the  grace  of  God. 

M.     And  our  minister,  was  he  born  in  sini 

F.     Yes,  my  child,  he  confesses  it  every 


14  THE  WAY  OF 

time  he  prays,  and  this  is  the  doctrine  which 
he  preaches  every  Sabbath. 

J.  How  does  it  come  to  pass,  that  while 
all  are  sinners  by  nature,  and  without  holi- 
ness, some  men  are  moral  and  amiable  from 
their  childhood,  and  others  are  wicked  all 
their  lives'! 

F.  It  is  not  owing-  to  any  essential  differ- 
ence in  natural  character,  but  some  persons 
are  from  their  youth  under  various  restraints, 
which  keep  them  from  running  so  far  astray 
in  their  actions  as  many  others.  Early  in- 
struction, a  fear  of  shame,  a  dread  of  punish- 
ment, and  the  absence  of  strong  temptations, 
are  the  means  of  restraining  many.  To  all 
which,  we  may  add  the  secret  influence  of  the 
Spirit,  in  what  are  called  his  common  opera 
tions,  by  which  they  are  kept  in  a  state  of 
tender  moral  feeling,  and  are  sometimes  under 
strong  convictions  of  their  sin  and  danger. 

M.     Are    no    children   good    from    their 


SALVATION.  15 

earliest  agel     May  not  young  children  be 
made  good  as  well  as  grown  people  1 

F.  They  may  be  sanctified  from  their 
birth,  as  was  John  the  Baptist,  and  Jeremiah, 
and  perhaps  Samuel ;  but  experience  teaches, 
that  few  give  evidence  that  this  has  been 
their  case. 

M.  What  then  becomes  of  young  chil- 
dren ]  If  they  are  born  in  sin  must  they  not 
be  lost  1 

F.  Now,  my  child,  you  are  indulging  a 
vain  curiosity.  What  good  can  it  do  you  to 
know  what  becomes  of  those  who  die  in 
infancy  ]  God  has  not  told  us,  and  we  ought 
not  curiously  to  inquire  into  secret  things 
which  belong  to  God.  We  know  that  God 
ca7i  save  them,  and  we  have  no  evidence  that 
he  will  not. 

M.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better  for 
me  if  I  had  died  when  my  dear  mother  was 
taken  away.  Nurse  says  my  life  was 
despaired  of. 


16  THE  WAY  OP 

F.  Now,  Mary,  you  are  sinning  against 
God,  by  un  thankfulness  for  the  goodness 
which  has  preserved  your  life,  and  raised 
you  up  from  the  borders  of  the  grave.  It  is 
true,  if  you  continue  in  impenitence  until 
you  die,  it  would  have  been  infinitely  better 
for  you  to  have  died  before  you  committed, 
actual  sin ;  but  life,  especially  under  the 
gospel  dispensation,  is  a  blessing  for  which 
we  are  bound  to  be  thankful.  For  now  you 
have  opportunity  to  hear  the  Gospel,  and  if 
you  believe,  and  repent  of  your  sins,  you 
will  be  saved.  Why  then  should  you  wish  that 
you  had  died  1  I  hope  you  will  never  again 
utter  such  a  speech.  Your  dear  mother, 
when  dying,  requested — and  it  was  her  last 
request — that  if  you  lived,  you  should  be 
brought  up  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord,"  and  she,  with  her  latest  breath, 
commended  you  to  God.  And  now,  my  dear 
child,  it  is  your  duty,  it  is  for  your  salvation 


i 


SALVATION.  17 

to  turn  unto  God  with  all  your  heart.     Seek 
the  Lord  early  while  he  may  be  found. 

J.  If  man  had  not  sinned,  as  he  would 
have  needed  no  salvation,  of  course  no  Sa- 
viour would  have  been  provided;  but  what 
I  wish  to  know  is,  why  God  could  not  save 
sinners  without  sending  his  own  Son  to  die. 
I  know  that  man  is  in  a  ruined  state,  and 
must  perish  unless  he  is  saved  from  it ;  but 
why  could  not  God,  if  he  desired  it,  stretch 
out  his  omnipotent  arm  and  rescue  him  ? 

F.  God  is  under  no  obligation  to  save  any 
sinner.  As  his  law  is  just  and  good,  he  might 
let  it  have  its  course,  and  inflict  deserved 
punishment  on  all  who  transgress.  Thus  he 
rdssed  by  the  fallen  angels,  and  left  them  to 
their  doom,  and  thus  in  regard  to  the  children 
of  men,  he  shows  mercy  to  whom  he  will — 
choosing  some  nations,  and  leaving  others  in 
the  darkness  of  idolatry  ;  electing  some  per- 
sons to  life,  and  leavmg  others  to  pursue 
their  own  course.     But  when  he  determines 

B 


19  THE  WAY  OP 

to  save  sinners,  it  must  be  in  a  way  consis- 
tent with  the  holiness  of  his  nature,  and  not 
derog-atory  to  his  law.  Sinners  cannot  be 
saved  by  a  mere  exertion  of  Almig-hty 
Power.  The  hinderance  cannot  thus  be  re- 
moved. God  must  be  just  in  justifying  the 
ungodly.  The  law  of  God  must  be  satisfied, 
or  the  sinner  cannot  be  saved.  This  rendered 
it  necessary  that  there  should  be  a  mediator ; 
and  he  must  be  one  who  could  make  satis- 
faction to  law  and  justice,  for  the  sins  of  men. 
None  could  do  this,  but  the  Son  of  God ;  and 
the  Son  of  God  could  reconcile  men  to  God, 
only  by  becoming  man. 

J.  I  ahvays  think  of  this  with  wonder.  It 
seems  to  me  the  most  wonderful  thing  in  the 
Bible.  I  often  ask  myself,  "  how  could  the 
Son  of  God  become  man  1" 

M.  Brother,  I  can  tell  you  out  of  the 
Catechism.  "  The  Son  of  God  became  man 
by  takmg  to  himself  a  true  body  and  a  reason* 
able  soul,  being  conceived  by  the  power  of 


6ALV»Tr0N.  19 

the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  born  of  her,  yet  without  sin." 

R.  I  never  thought  before  that  the  Cate- 
chism could  teach  us  so  many  things. 

F.  Well,  my  son,  I  hope  you  will  here- 
after be  more  attentive  to  commit  the  Cate- 
chism perfectly  to  memory,  and  also  some 
few  texts  of  scripture  which  are  annexed  to 
each  question  to  prove  the  doctrine ;  for  if 
the  Catechism  did  not  teach  according  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  it  would  be  of  no  autho- 
rity. It  was  intended  to  contain  a  short  sum* 
mary  of  what  is  in  the  Bible. 

R.  Why  are  there  different  kinds  of 
Catechisms'?  At  our  Sunday  School  some 
learn  the  Shorter  Catechism,  which  we  use, 
but  others  recite  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  ; 
and  William  Van  Sickle  says,  that  their 
minister  hears  all  the  children  in  his  congre- 
gation from  that  Catechism  every  Saturday 
afternoon,  in  the  lecture  room. 

F.     My  son,  that  is  the  Catechism  which 


20  THE  WAY  OF 

has  for  a  long  time  been  used  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  in  Holland,  and  when  the 
Dutch  settled  in  this  country  they  brought  it 
vvith  them ;  but  my  ancestors  were  from  Scot- 
land, where  the  Westminster  Catechisms 
have  been  long  in  use,  and  they  have  been 
adopted  as  the  Catechisms  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  Shorter  Catechism  has  always 
been  highly  valued,  and  much  used  by  the 
Consfre (rationalists  of  both  Old  and  New 
England.  But  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  has 
been  more  extensively  used  than  any  one 
composed  by  the  Reformers.  All  the  reformed 
churches  on  the  continent  of  Europe  adopted 
this  Catechism.  These  two  Catechisms  per- 
fectly agree  in  doctrine,  and  only  differ  in 
words  and  method. 

J.  Father,  if  it  would  not  take  too  much 
time,  I  should  like  to  hear  you  state  the 
reasons  why  man  needs  a  Saviour,  and  after- 
wards show  that  Christ  is  just  such  a  Saviour 
as  trie  smner  needs. 


SALVATION.  21 

F.  My  son,  I  will  do  my  best  to  satisfy 
you.  The  subject  is  important  beyond  con- 
ception, and  I  humbly  pray  that  I  may  be 
guided  so  as  to  hold  forth  the  truth  of  God, 
and  nothing  but  the  truth.  I  will  enter  on 
the  task  with  the  more  pleasure,  because  I 
hope  that  you  are  beginning  sincerely  to  in- 
quire after  the  way  of  salvation.  And  I  beg 
of  you  all,  my  dear  children,  to  give  diligent 
heed  to  the  instructions  of  your  affectionate 
father,  or  rather  to  the  counsels  of  God,  your 
Heavenly  Father ;  for  his  word  is  able,  through 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  make  you  wise  unto 
salvation. 

R.  Father,  when  we  do  not  understand 
any  thing,  may  we  ask  you  to  explain  it  ? 

F.  Certainly  you  may,  and  it  will  afford 
me  pleasure  to  give  you  all  the  information 
I  can.  I  never  feel  more  in  the  way  of  my 
duty,  and  no  duty  affords  me  more  heart-felt 
pleasure  than  to  instil  divine  truth  into  the 


22  THE  WAY  OF 

minds  of  my  children,  especially  when  I  find 
them  ready  to  hear  and  eager  to  learn. 

J.  I  wish  you  would  begin  with  that  want 
of  the  sinner,  which  is  most  pressing  and 
most  heavily  felt.  When  the  jailer  at  Phi- 
lippi,  asked,  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved? 
what  want  did  he  feel,  what  kind  of  salva- 
tion did  he  inquire  after  7 

F.  Your  suggestion  is  very  reasonable. 
Often  for  the  sake  of  proceeding  systemati- 
cally in  our  instructions,  we  begin  too  far  oif 
from  the  feelings  of  distressed  souls.  It  is 
evident,  I  think,  that  a  sense  of  guilt,  or  of 
exposure  to  condemnation,  causes  the  most 
urgent  of  all  the  sinner's  wants,  and  is  that 
which  is  usually  first  experienced  in  the  con- 
viction of  sin,  produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Most  people  brought  up  under  the  Gospel 
have  a  general  and  habitual  conviction  that 
they  are  sinners.  The  frequent  reproofs  of 
conscience  are  sufficient  to  keep  them  from 
denying  this ;  a  nd  as  all  are  ready  to  make 


SALVATION  23 

this  confession,  no  peculiar  disgrace  is  at- 
tached to  the  acknowledgment.  But  while 
they  admit  that  they  are  sinners,  they  are 
disposed  to  excuse  themselves,  and  cherish 
the  opinion  that  they  are  better  than  most 
others ;  and  the  general  conviction  of  sinful- 
ness makes  no  impression  on  them.  They 
are  neither  humbled  nor  alarmed  by  the 
thought  that  they  are  sinners;  and,  except 
when  the  fear  of  death  is  excited,  they  have 
no  sense  of  their  need  of  a  Saviour.  They 
give  themselves  up  to  worldly  pursuits  and 
pleasures,  with  as  much  eagerness  as  if  they 
were  sure  there  was  no  world  to  come,  or  as 
if  they  had  no  account  to  render  to  God  for 
their  sins.  The  case  which  I  am  describing 
is  so  common,  that  it  is  often  hard  to  find,  in 
a  whole  congregation,  a  few  persons  in  good 
earnest,  seeking  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 
But  sometimes,  it  pleases  God  to  pour  out 
hi-s  Spirit,  and  then  many  are  awakened,  and 


24  THE  WAY  OF 

there  is,  for  a  season,  a  general  concern 
about  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 

B.     Is  that  what  is  called  a  revival? 

F.  It  is;  and  such  seasons  are  very 
precious.  Many  who  were  far  off  from 
God  are  brought  nigh,  and  the  wicked  for- 
sakes his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts,  and  returns  unto  God  and  obtains 
mercy. 

J.  Does  all  seriousness  proceed  from  the 
Spirit  of  God,  or  may  we  not  be  led  to  think 
and  feel  on  religious  subjects  by  awakening 
discourses  or  alarming  dispensations  of  Pro- 
vidence ] 

F.  As  God  works  by  means,  we  can 
never  tell  certainly,  whether  a  serious 
tho'ight  or  feeling  is  merely  from  the  ope- 
ration of  God's  word  and  providence,  or 
whether  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  an  unusual 
energy  to  tlie  means.  It  is  safest,  however, 
and  attended  with  no  danger  to  attribute  all 
serious   impressions   to  the   Spirit  of  God, 


SALVATION.  25 

giving  force  to  considerations  which  before 
passed  unheeded  by  us. 

J.  How  can  we  know  that  we  are  under 
conviction  of  sin  from  the  Spirit  1 

F.  As  we  cannot  perceive  the  Spirit's 
operations,  but  by  the  effect  produced,  so  if 
we  have  an  abiding  and  deep  conviction  of 
our  sins,  we  know  that  this  effect  is  produced 
by  this  Divine  agent. 

J.  I  wish  to  know  how  persons  feel  who 
are  under  conviction.  T  am  very  sensible 
that  I  am  a  sinner,  and  I  feel  that  I  am  a 
great  sinner,  but  my  heart  remains  hard.  I 
have  no  tender  feelings.  Formerly,  when  I 
heard  a  solemn  sermon,  I  was  moved  to  tears ; 
but  these  feelings  soon  passed  away.  Now, 
I  seldom  shed  a  tear,  and  when  I  do,  still  my 
heart  feels  as  hard  as  a  stone.  I  wish  to  be 
alarmed  at  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  but  I  seem 
incapable  of  fear,  and  when  I  attempt  to 
pray,  it  seems  like  a  mockery;  for  when  1 
am  on  my  knees,  my  thoughts  wander  and  ] 


26 


THE  WAY  OP 


have  nothing  to  say  ;  or  if  I  go  over  a  form 
of  words,  my  heart  does  not  go  along.  1 
think,  dear  father,  that  mine  must  be  the 
hardest  and  the  wickedest  heart  that  ever  was 
lodged  in  any  breast.  I  begin  to  fear  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  has  left  me  to  myself,  and 
that  I  am  only  permitted  to  live  to  fill  up  my 
cup  of  iniquity  to  the  brim.  Do  tell  me 
what  I  must  do. 

F.  My  dear  son,  though  your  feelings  are 
painful,  I  rejoice  that  you  have  them  ;  and  I 
assure  you  they  are  not  peculiar  to  yourself. 
Thousands  have  experienced  the  same.  I 
cannot  express  the  feelings  which  I  have  in 
finding  you  so  earnestly  exercised  about 
your  salvation.  I  have  been,  I  confess,  too 
negligent  in  conversing  with  you  about  your 
soul's  concerns.  I  lament  my  backwardness 
and  unfaithfulness  in  this  particular.  But  I 
have  felt  much  solicitude  for  the  salvation  of 
my  children,  and  have  often  borne  you  on 
my  heart  at  a  throne  of  grace,  with  many 


SALVATION.  27 

tears,  day  and  night.  And  now,  1  hope  that 
God  is  about  to  answer  my  poor  but  sinceie 
prayers. 

J.     I  am  afraid  that  I  have  given  you  an 

ntirely  wrong  view  of  the  state  of  my  mind. 

t  is  true,  that  for  several  weeks  past  this 
subjbct  has  been  in  my  thoughts,  and  I  have 
wished  to  experience  some  deep  impressions, 
and  have  been  willing  to  feel  the  stronsfest 
convictions.  Indeed,  I  have  tried  to  pro- 
duce such  feelings  by  thinking  on  the  most 
awful  subjects,  but  instead  of  getting  my 
heart  softened,  it  has  every  hour  been  grow- 
ing harder.  You  lately  presented  me  with  a 
copy  of  Doddridge's  "  Rise  and  Progress  of 
Religion  in  the  Soul,"  and  requested  me  to 
read  it,  especially  the  former  part ;  remarking 
that  if  you  had  ever  received  any  spiritual 
blessings,  you  owed  much,  under  God,  to 
that  book.  Two  days  ago  I  took  down  the 
book  and  carefully  perused  several  chapters ; 
but  although  my  understanding  assented  to 


23 


THE  WAY  OF 


every  thing-,  yet  I  was  able  to  feel  nothing-— 
nothing-  but  hardness.  And  now  what  I 
wish  above  all  things  is,  to  feel  conviction 
of  sin,  as  I  understand  that  to  be  the  first 
step  in  Christian  experience.  Do  tell  me 
how  I  may  get  conviction — I  care  not  how 
painful  or  terrible.  I  wish  to  be  prepared  to 
receive  Christ. 

F.     Your  notions  of  conviction  I  think  are 
erroneous  ;  and  also  of  the  end  which  it  can 
accomplish.     You    seem    to  think  that  con- 
viction of  sin  consists  in  very  tender  relent- 
ings,  or  in  awful  terrors  of  conscience,  and 
therefore,  that  you  now  have  no  convictions ; 
but  such  feelings  as  you  wish  for,  would  not 
give  such  a  true  sense  of  your  sinfulness  aa 
you   already   experience.     If  you    had    the 
feelings  desired,  you  would  think  your  situa- 
tion better  than  you  now  view  it  to  be.  Much 
of  the  depravity  of  the  heart  consists  in  its  un- 
yielding hardness.   To  be  deeply  convinced  of 
this  is  then  a  more  real  and  thoroug-h  convic- 


SALVATION.  29 

tion  of  sin,  than  what  you  are  wishing  for. 
And  you  seem  to  think  that  such  feelings  as 
you  have  been  seeking  would  prepare  you 
to  come  to  Christ.  This  is  the  working  of  a 
self-righteous  spirit,  which  desires  to  come 
with  somethmg  that  deserves  favour.  But 
no  feelings  of  distress,  however  keen,  would 
in  the  least  fit  you  for  the  reception  of 
Christ.  You  can  have  no  fitness,  but  to  feel 
your  need  of  him.  This  is  all  the  fitness 
he  requires,  and  that  you  have  now,  if  you 
feel  that  you  need  a  Saviour.  Conviction  is 
in  no  other  view  a  preparation  for  believing 
in  Christ,  than  as  it  shows  us  that  we  are  in 
a  lost  condition,  and  utterly  unable  to  help 
ourselves ;  and  that  we  must  perish,  unless 
mercy  interpose  :  and  the  effect  is  not  com- 
plete unless  we  see  and  feel  that  it  would  be 
just  in  God  to  cast  us  ofi'for  ever.  This  is  a 
point,  my  son,  on  which  you  have  not  ex- 
pressed your  feelings. 


»%  TJIE  WAY  OF 

J.  I  am  glad  you  mentioned  it.  Last 
evening-  I  v/alked  in  the  grove,  and  was 
meditating  on  my  lost  and  miserable  condi- 
tion, and  the  thought  came  into  my  mind, 
that  my  day  of  grace  was  past,  and  that  my 
sins  were  too  great  to  be  forgiven.  This 
suggestion  appeared  so  much  like  an  evident 
truth,  that,  for  the  time,  I  fully  believed  it. 
I  was,  however,  calm,  and  felt  no  peculiar 
terrors,  but  began  deliberately  to  think  what 
my  condition  would  be  in  the  world  of  woe. 
I  had  often  heard  that  lost  sinners  in  hell 
would  for  ever  blaspheme  God,  but  I  thought 
that  I  never  could  join  in  their  blasphemies. 
I  thought  tha,t  God  had  not  only  been  just, 
but  kind  towards  me.  I  was  fully  convinced 
that  he  was  in  no  degree  to  blame  for  my 
perdition,  but  that  all  the  blame  would  lie 
on  myself.  And  I  had,  at  that  moment, 
such  a  sense  of  the  righteousness  of  Grod,  in 
my  condemnation,  that  I   seemed   to  acqui- 


SALVATION.  31 

eece  in  my  being-  sent  to  hell,  as  a  thinof  that 
a  holy  God  must  do.  T  never  saw  any  thing 
plainer  in  my  life,  than  the  entire  justice  of 
God  in  my  eternal  condemnation,  and  this 
when  I  seemed  to  be  certain  that  it  would 
be  my  doom. 

P.  I  am  satisfied  on  this  point,  and  I  see 
nothing  to  hinder  you  from  immediately  com- 
mitting" your  soul  into  the  hands  of  Jesus, 
who  is  waiting  to  receive  you.  "  He  is  able 
to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto 
God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them."  •*  If  any  m.an  sin, 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous;  and  he  is  the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only, 
but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  He 
invites  sinners  to  come  unto  him,  and  pro- 
mises, "  Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out."  And  he  requires  no 
preparation — no  previous  cleansing,  no  par- 


32  THE  WAY  OF 

ticular  degree  of  conviction.  Come  help- 
less, come  just  as  you  are,  come  as  a  self- 
condemned  sinner— and  come  now.  "  Behold 
now  is  the  accepted  time,  and  now  is  the  day 
of  salvation."  Lay  hold  of  eternal  life,  for 
by  accepting  Christ,  you  have  life.  The 
sceptre  of  his  mercy  is  extended  towards 
yon — touch,  and  your  soul  shall  live. 

J.  Oh  Lord!  I  would  believe— " help 
thou  my  unbelief." 

[Here  a  shower  of  tears  prevented  further 
utterance,  and  the  distressed  child  fell  upon 
his  father's  bosom,  and  for  a  long  time  con- 
tinued to  weep  profusely.] 

M.  Dear  father,  let  us  return  to  the 
house.  Is  brother  John  sick  ]  Why  does 
he  cry  so  1 

F.  Be  still,  my  daughter ;  I  hope  God  is 
dealing  graciously  with  your  elder  brother, 
and  I  wish  from  my  heart  that  all  my  dear 
children  were  affected  as  he  is. 


( 


SALVATION.  33 

[Here  the  conversation  ended  for  this 
time.  The  other  boys  were  much  affected, 
partly  with  a  lively  religious  impression,  and 
partly  with  tender  sympathy.] 


PART  II. 


(35) 


THE 


WAY    OF    SALVATION. 


PART  II. 


The  father  having  agreed  to  spend  the 
next  evening  in  the  same  sequestered  and 
delightful  spot,  the  children  were  all  punc- 
tually there  by  the  appointed  hour.  John  no 
longer  appeared  dejected  ;  the  dark  clouds, 
which  had  shaded  his  youthful  countenance, 
were  dispersed,  and  a  calm  serenity  rested  on 
his  brow,  while  hope  and  joy  seemed  to  speak 
through  his  eyes.  His  heart  was  indeed  at 
rest,  for  ho  seemed  to  lean  gently  on  his 

(37) 


38  THE   WAY   OF 

Saviour's  bosom.  But  he  did  not  appear  for- 
ward to  speak  ;  he  seemed  rather  to  wish  to 
be  left  undisturbed  to  the  sweet  repast  of  love 
and  joy  with  which  he  had  been  favoured. 
The  other  children  were  overawed  and  were 
still.  The  father,  who  had  had  a  loner  inter- 
view with  John,  was  unable  to  conceal  his 
swelling-  emotions.  Tears  of  joy  trickled 
down  his  cheeks,  and  he  looked  around  upon 
the  little  circle  of  his  children  with  a  tender- 
ness and  a  solicitude,  which  he  had  never  be- 
fore felt  in  an  equal  degree.  After  some 
time  of  tender  silence,  Benjamin  ventured  to 
epeak. 

B.  Father,  I  wished  to  hear  you  explain 
more  fully  why  it  was  necessary  for  God  to 
send  his  own  beloved  Son  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners. 

F.  I  told  you  that  God  is  so  holy  that  he 
cannot  suffer  sin  in  any  of  his  creatures  to  go 
unpunished.  The  sinner,  therefore,  must 
die,  or  some  one  must  die  in  his  place.     And 


SALVATION.  39 

the  law  of  God  is  holy,  just  and  good,  and 
cannot  be  set  aside.  It  must  be  honoured  and 
fulfilled,  which  could  not  be  if  sinners  es- 
caped the  deserved  penalty.  God  had  threat- 
ened death  as  the  punishment  of  every  sin 
This  awful  word  includes  every  kind  and 
form  of  death,  and  every  evil  which  ever  shall 
come  upon  man.  No  angel  could  be  permit- 
ted to  be  a  mediator  between  God  and  man, 
for  angels  are  dependent  creatures,  and  can 
perform  no  works  which  are  not  required  of 
them  by  the  law  under  which  they  are  placed. 
An  angel  could  not  endure  the  curse  due  to 
so  great  a  multitude.  A  person  of  infinite 
power  and  dignity  was  requisite ;  and  where 
could  such  a  one  be  found  but  in  the  God- 
head ]  For  though  God  is  one  in  essence, 
yet  he  exists  in  three  persons,  united  and 
distinguished  in  a  manner  which  can  neither 
be  expressed  nor  understood.  This  glorious 
mystery  is  made  known  in  connexion  with 
the  plan  of  redemption.     The  eternal  Father 


40  THE    WAY    OF 

agreed  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son  to  be- 
come man  and  to  die  for  sinners.  The  co- 
equal Son  consented  to  be  made  flesh  and  to 
dwell  among  us,  and  bear  our  sins  in  his 
own  body  on  the  cross.  The  Holy  Spirit 
entered  into  the  counsel  of  peace,  and  under- 
took to  prepare  the  human  nature  of  the . 
Mediator  pure  and  spotless,  by  a  miraculous 
birth,  and  to  fill  and  consecrate  this  sacred 
but  peculiar  nature,  with  the  immeasurable 
fulness  of  his  grace  ;  and  also  to  apply  the 
redemption  purchased  to  all  the  chosen  sons 
of  God,  and  to  prepare  them  and  preserve 
them  for  the  heavenly  inheritance. 

In  the  fulness  of  time,  the  Son  of  God  was 
manifested  in  the  flesh,  and  having  brought 
in  an  everlasting  righteousness  by  his  obedi- 
ence and  death,  he  returned  to  heaven,  where 
he  is  now  enthroned  in  glory.  \ 

R.  Father,  most  of  what  you  have  said  ia 
in  the  Catechism.  I  have  been  reviewing  my 
questions  almost  the  whole  day. 


SALVATION.  41 

F.  Well,  Rufus,  let  us  hear  what  you  can 
remember  on  this  subject. 

R.  "Christ's  humiliation  consisted  in  his 
being  born,  and  that  in  a  low  condition ; 
made  under  the  law,  undergoing  the  mise- 
ries of  this  life,  the  wrath  of  God,  and  the 
cursed  death  of  the  cross ;  in  being  buried 
and  continuing  under  the  power  of  death  for 
a  time." 

F.  Very  good.  Let  us  hear  now  whether 
Mary  can  tell  us  wherein  Christ's  exaltation 
consists. 

M.  No,  father,  I  can't  remember  it  unless 
you  ask  me  fiom  the  beginning. 

F.  Rufus,  you  can  give  it  to  us,  as  you 
have  just  been  over  it. 

R.  "  Christ's  exaltation  consist eth  in  his 
rising  again  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day ; 
in  ascending  up  into  Heaven ;  in  sitting 
at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father ;  and 
in  coming  to  judge  the  world  at  the  last 
day." 


42  THE  WAY  OF 

B.  You  did  not  finish  telling  us  why  Goii 
could  not  forgive  our  sins  without  an  atone 
ment. 

F.     True,  my  son,  I  was  led  away  from 
the  subject  by   the  interesting   inquiries   of 
your  brother  John  ;    but  I  think  from  what 
has  been  said,  it  must  be   evident  to  every 
impartial  mind  that  the  holiness  and  justice 
of  God  can  never  suffer  sin  to  be  pardoned, 
except  on  account  of  a  full  satisfaction.     No 
other  person  was  qualified  to  render  such  a 
satisfaction  but  the  Son  of  God  ;    his  atone- 
ment therefore  is  the  only  ground  on  which 
a  sinner  can  rationally  or  scripturally  hope 
for  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins.     But  not  only 
the  holiness  and  justice  of  God,  but  his  truth 
and  faithfulness  are  pledged  to   punish  sin; 
and  there  is  no  way  by  which  the  veracity 
of  God  can  be  vindicated    and  honoured  if 
the  sinner  escape  the  punishment  of  his  sins, 
unless  some  one  step  into  his  place  and  die 
for  him.     The  curse  of  the  law  must  be  en- 


SALVATION. 


43 


dured,  either  by  the  transgressor,  oi  by  his 
surety.  "Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 
tinueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in 
the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  This,  God 
hath  solemnly  spoken,  and  if  he  fail  to  exe- 
cute his  own  threatenings,  where  is  his  truth"? 
Such  a  failure  in  a  man  would  be  considered 
very  wrong,  and  shall  man  be  more  true  than 
God  3 

B.  But,  father,  did  not  God  say  to  Adam, 
"in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou 
Shalt  surely  die  ]"  and  yet  he  lived  almost  a 
thousand  years. 

F.  My  son,  there  are  more  kinds  of  death 
than  one.  The  word  "die"  in  that  place 
includes  all  kinds  of  punishment.  And  in 
tlie  most  important  sense  of  all,  Adam  did 
die  immediately  upon  sinning;  for  he  was 
separated  from  his  union  and  communion 
with  God,  in  which  spiritual  life  consisted, 
and  he  became  dead  in  sin,  and  dead  in  law. 
and  in  due  time  his  body  also  died. 


44  THE  WAY  OF 

J.  I  love  to  think  of  Christ  on  the  cross, 
bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body.  "  He 
who  knew  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  us." 
He  came  to  redeem  his  people  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  by  being-  made  a  curse  for 
them.  If  I  did  not  see  the  holy  law  of  God 
completely  fulfilled  in  Christ,  I  could  have 
no  hope.  Now  God  can  be  just  and  justify 
the  ungodly  that  believeth  in  Jesus,  because 
he  hath  found  a  ransom.  Christ  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins,  and  his  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  unrighteousness.  I  wish  that  the 
whole  world  could  see  the  excellency  of 
Christ  as  I  now  see  it.  He  is  indeed  the 
chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  one  altogether 
lovely. 

F.  John,  you  speak  with  feeling  and  en- 
ergy, because  you  speak  from  the  heart.  I 
rejoice  in  your  comfortable  views  and  feel- 
ings, but  I  must  forewarn  you  that  this  sun- 
shine will  not  be  uninterrupted.  Cloudy 
days,  if  not  dark  and  stormy  nights,  must  be 


ic 


SALVATION.  45 

expected  by  Z  ion's  pilgrims,  as  long  as  they 
are  journeying  through  this  wilderness.  And 
you  will  find  that  you  will  greatly  need 
a  skilful  guide  to  direct  you  in  the  right  way, 
and  to  bring  you  back  when  you  have  strayed. 
The  need  of  Christ's  atoning  blood  and  justi- 
fying riofhteousness  is  first  felt  and  a! ways 
felt;  but  it  is  not  long  before  he  becomes 
precious  to  the  believer,  in  his  prophetical 
office  also.  No  want  is  more  sensibly  expe- 
rienced than  the  want  of  spiritual  knowledge, 
which  none  can  supply  but  Christ,  by  his 
Spirit.  We  need  instruction  every  day  and 
every  hour.  We  need  a  spiritual  discernment, 
without  which  nothing  is  known  aright 
We  need  wisdom  to  comprehend  the  things 
which  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God,  and  to 
enable  us  to  order  our  conduct  aright.  We 
need  a  meek  and  docile  spirit,  that  we  may 
be  apt  to  learn,  and  we  need  such  a  measure 
of  Divine  knowledge  as  may  make  us  useful 


46 


THE  WAY  OP 


to  Others.  Mary,  can  you  tell  us  how  Christ 
executes  the  office  of  a  prophet  ? 

M.  "  In  revealing-  to  us,  by  his  word  and 
Spirit,  the  will  of  God  for  our  salvation/' 

J.  O  father,  how  briefly  and  plainly 
this  is  expressed.  I  shall  begin  now  to  love 
the  Catechism.  I  will  g-o  over  it  all,  without 
delay. 

F.  Suppose,  my  son,  you  begin  to  com- 
mit to  memory  the  Larger  Catechism;  it 
contains  the  same  doctrines  as  the  Shorter, 
but  it  is  much  fuller,  and  there  are  many  points 
treated  more  satisfactorily.  It  is  in  my 
opinion,  the  best  system  of  theology,  for  the 
size  of  it,  in  the  world, 

R.     What,  father,  better  than  the  Bible  ? 

F.  We  never  compare  any  human  com- 
position with  the  Bible.  The  excellence  of 
this  Catechism  is,  that  it  embodies,  in  a  short 
space,  the  most  important  doctrines  and 
duties  inculcated  in  the  Bible. 

J.     1  do  not  see  so  clearly  as  I  wish,  why 


SALVATION.  47 

the  Mediator  should  be  a  King.  I  wish, 
father,  you  would  make  some  remarks  on  this 
subject. 

F.  The  work  of  redemption  is  a  great 
and  complicated  work.  None  could  accom- 
plish it  but  one  possessed  of  Almighty 
power.  Man  had  fallen  under  the  domin- 
ion of  an  enemy  whom  it  was  necessary  to 
conquer,  in  order  to  his  deliverance.  His 
own  sinful  passions  and  propensities  must 
be  subdued,  and  a  victory  must  be  obtained 
over  the  world,  which  he  has  hitherto  served. 
When  he  is  brought  into  a  state  of  recon- 
ciliation, still  he  remains,  while  in  the  body, 
in  an  enemy's  country,  where  he  is  liable  to 
be  assailed  by  numerous  foes.  To  oppose 
these,  he  has  no  power  in  himself.  He  would 
fall,  if  \ei\  to  himself,  by  the  hands  of  the 
weakest  of  his  enemies.  He  needs  a  Cap- 
tain of  salvation  to  protect  him,  to  teach  him 
low  to  carry  on  this  spiritual  warfare,  and  Lo 


48  THE  WAY  OF 

give  Iwrn  the  victory  over  his  enemies.  On 
ail  these  accounts,  his  Redeemer  must  be  an 
all-powerful  King.  Again,  the  promises  of 
God  to  his  people,  in  the  covenant  of  grace, 
require,  that  he  who  undertakes  to  accom- 
plish them  should  liave  dominion  over  all  the 
elements,  all  the  laws  of  nature,  and  all  the 
creatures  of  God,  intelligent  as  well  as  irra- 
tional. So  we  read,  that  principalities  are 
subject  to  Christ,  and  all  the  angels  are  his 
messengers — "  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth 
to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation." 

Christ  also  must  be  gloriously  exalted  as 
Mediator,  as  a  reward  for  his  deep  hu- 
miliation. "  Who  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal 
with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no  reputa- 
tion, and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant, and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men. 
And    being   found    in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 


SALVATION.  4^ 

humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Where- 
fore God  also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and 
.given  him  a  name,  which  is  above  every 
name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  Heaven,  and  things 
in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth."  Ph. 
ii.  6—10. 

J.  What  wonderful  wisdom  shines  in  the 
plan  of  salvation;  and  not  only  wisdom, 
but  love  and  mercy,  beyond  all  human 
thought!  And  what  is  most  wonderful, 
justice  shines  as  brightly  in  the  salvation  of 
a  sinner  as  mercy. 

F.  The  method  by  which  grace  reigns 
through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life,  is,  I 
believe,  the  most  glorious  exhibition  of  the 
Divine  attributes  which  has  ever  been  made 
in  the  universe.  While  man  reaps  the  bene- 
fit of  it  directly,  all  holy  beings  must  be 
Denefitted  to  all  eternity  by  this  wonderful 

D 


'50  THE  WAY  OF 

display  of  the  Divine  attributes;  for  their 
■dignity  and  happiness  depend  on  the  clear- 
ness of  the  knowledge  of  God  to  which  they 
►cm  attain. 

B.  Father,  I  should  like  to  hear  you,  in  a 
few  words,  give  a  view  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. 

F.  I  scarcely  know  how  to  comply  with 
your  request.  1  hardly  know  where  to  begin, 
or  having  begun,  where  to  end.  Paul  has 
given  it  in  one  sentence.  "  For  by  grace 
are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of 
yourselves— it  is  the  gift  of  God."  The 
whole  is  a  plan  of  mere  mercy  and  grace. 
It  originated  in  pure  love.  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,"  &c.  The  undertaking  of  the  work  of 
redemption  by  the  Son  was  of  unmerite 
favour — "As  Christ  also  hath  loved  us  and 
hath  given  himself  for  us."  "  As  Christ  also 
loved  the  Church  and  gave  himself  for  it." 


SALVATION.  51 

**  While  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died 
for  us."  The  work  performed  by  Christ 
was, 

1.  A  revelation  of  the  truth. 

2.  A  perfect  obedience  to  the  law,  rendered 
in  behalf  of  his  people. 

3.  A  full  atonement  for  their  sins,  when  he 
bore  them  in  his  own  body  on  the  cross,  and 
was  made  a  curse,  to  deliver  his  people  from 
the  curse  of  the  law. 

4.  His  resurrection,  and  his  continual  inter- 
cession for  all  that  were  given  him  of  tha 
Father. 

5.  The  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  cou' 
vince  them  of  sin,  to  regenerate  them,  and 
bring  them  by  faith  unto  Christ. 

6.  The  progressive  sanctification  and  con- 
servation of  believers ;  by  defending  and  pro- 
tecting them  from  all  enemies,  and  keeping 
their  graces  alive ;  by  reclaiming  them  when 
ihey  go  astray  ;    chastening  them  for  their 


52  THE  WAY  OF 

improvement  in  holiness ;  supporting  and 
comforting  them  in  all  their  afflictions,  and 
finally  giving  them  a  victory  over  death,  and 
ministering  to  them  an  abundant  entrance 
into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  Christ  has  also  given  assurance  by  re- 
peated promises,  that  he  will  come  again  tc 
receive  his  people,  and  openly  acknowledge 
them  before  the  assembled  universe  ;  when 
their  bodies  shall  be  raised  from  the  dust, 
and  shall  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious 
body.  Then  shall  they  be  caught  up  into 
the  air  with  him,  and  shall  ascend  with  him 
to  Heaven,  where  they  shall  ever  be  with 
the  Lord.  The  riches  of  that  inheritance 
which  Christ  has  purchased  and  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him,  far  exceed  all  human 
amceptions.  But  we  know  that  it  is  "  incor- 
ruptible, undefiled,  and  fadeth  not  away." 
Then  the  redeemed  shall  stand  distinsfuished 


SALVATION.  53 

on  Mount  Zion,  as  "  they  which  came  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  ;"  and  freed  from  all  sin,  and  filled 
with  gratitude,  they  will  never  cease  from 
praising  God  and  the  Lamb.  And  they  shall 
go  no  more  out,  but  shall  be  as  pillars  in 
the  temple  of  God.  Blessed  is  every  one  that 
shall  be  privileged  to  join  in  the  hosannahs 
and  hallelujahs  of  the  temple  above. 

B.  What  I  wish  more  particularly  to 
know  is,  the  way  in  which  God  brings  a  sin- 
ner back  to  himself,  or  what  are  the  views 
and  feelings  of  a  sinner  returning  to  God  hy 
faith  and  repentance. 

F.  The  ways  of  God's  dealings  with  those 
whom  he  effectually  calls,  are  exceedingly 
various  in  many  respects,  but  as  to  substance, 
the  result  is  the  same.  Rufus,  let  us  hear  you 
give  the  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is 
elTectual  calljn<r]" 


54  THE  WAY  OF 

R.  "  Effectual  calling  is  the  work  of 
God's  Spirit,  whereby  convincing  us  of  our 
sin  and  misery,  enlightening  our  minds  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  and  renewing  our  wills, 
he  dotli  persuade  and  enable  us  to  embrace 
Jesus  Christ,  freely  offered  to  us  in  the  Gos- 
pel." 

F.  The  first  step  in  a  religious  life  is 
serious  consideration ;  the  next  is  a  sincere 
desire  to  escape  from  the  danger  of  perishing 
eternally.  At  first,  outward  sins  and  great 
sins  aff'ect  the  conscience ;  but  as  light  and 
knowledge  increase,  the  affections  of  the  heart 
are  discerned  and  felt  to  be  sinful.  The  con- 
vinced sinner's  first  thought  is  to  satisfy  the 
broken  law  by  reformation,  or  by  prayer  and 
penances  ;  but  when  he  sees  that  "  the  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately 
wicked,"  he  despairs  of  help  from  the  law. 
The  light  of  conviction  is  so  strong  in 
some,  that  they  are  cut  off  from  all  legal 


1 


SALVATION.  55 

hope  almost  instantly ;  while  others  may  be 
months  and  years  striving  to  work  out  a 
righteousness  of  their  own.  Nothing  is 
harder,  than  for  a  man  to  give  up  all  hope  of 
saving  himself;  he  catches  like  a  drowning 
man  at  every  thing  within  his  reach.  But 
when  this  hope  is  dead,  he  feels  as  if  he  were 
sinking,  and  begins  to  cry  in  good  earnest  for 
mercy  and  help.  He  is  taught  and  made  to 
acknowledge,  that  though  he  can  do  nothing 
good,  yet  his  inability  is  his  sin,  and  not  his 
apology.  He  is  deeply  convinced  of  the  sin- 
fulness of  his  nature,  and  of  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  sin,  and  that  in  him  dwelleth  no 
good  thing;  that  he  deserves  to  be  made 
forever  miserable;  and  that  if  he  is  saved, 
it  must  be  by  mere  grace  ;  yet  he  is  resolved 
to  die  seeking  for  mercy,  if  die  he  must. 
One  of  the  most  common  feelings  of  a  con- 
!  vinced  sinner,  is  a  deep  sense  of  the  dreadful 
hardness  of  his  heart   and   blindness  of  hia 


56 


THE  WAY  OF 


mind,   which  he  often  thinks  is  peculiar  to 

himself. 

J.     Dear   father,   how   exactly  you  des- 
cribe my  feelings. 
F.     Well,  my  son,  tell  us  how  you   felt 

when    you   hoped    that    you    had    received 

Christ. 
J.     I  am  afraid  to  say  that  I  have  believed 

— it  seems  too  great  a  good  to  be  mine.  I  am 
sometimes  afraid  that  I  am  deceiving  myself; 

but  I  cannot  doubt  that  I  have  viewed  Christ 
as  lovely  and  as  a  Saviour  suited  to  me. 
After  giving  up  all  hope  of  salvation,  while 
you  were  conversing  with  me,  and  repeating 
God's  gracious  promises,  I  felt  my  hard  heart 
begin  to  melt — I  began  to  think  that  God 
could  save  me  through  Christ,  and  the  mere 
possibility  of  being  saved,  filled  me  with  such 
emotion  as  I  never  felt  before.  This  morn- 
ing when  I  awoke  from  a  sweet  sleep,  my 
thoughts  were  raised  to  God,  and  I  believed 


I 

SALVATION  57 

that  he  was  my  reconciled  Father  in  Christ. 
Humble  joy  filled  my  soul.       I  arose,  and 
before  I  had  finished  dressing,  I  took  up  my 
I  Bible  and  opened  at  the  eighteenth  chapter 
[  of  John.     I  read  this  chapter  and  the  next, 
and  it  was  as  if  a  new  book  had  been  put  into 
my  hand.      The  sacred  pages  appeared  to  be 
illuminated  with  beauty  and  glory.      I  knew 
then  most  assuredly  that  this  was  the  truth 
of  God ;  and  while  tears  of  penitence  flowed, 
at  a  view  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  I  felt 
confident  that  I  trusted  in  Him,  and  that  He 
had  become  my  Saviour.    If  I  ever  loved  any- 
thing, I  experienced  love  to  Christ,  and  his 
love  seemed  to  be  shed  abroad  in  my  heart. 
After  this  season  of  joy  and  sorrow  sweetly 
mingled,  a  delightful    peace   seemed  to   be 
diffused  through   my   soul,  which   still  con- 
tinues,  but  I  am  afraid  is  decreasing.     My 
strongest  desire  was  to  show  my  gratitude  to 
my  dying  Saviour  for  his  love.  The  language 


5S  TITE  WAY  OF 

of  my  heart  was,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ]"  And  immediately  I  was  con- 
scious of  a  most  enlarged  benevolence  to  my 
fellow  creatures,  and  a  strong-  desire  to  invite 
the  whole  world  to  come  to  Christ,  that  they 
might  be  saved  ;  and  also  a  tender  affection 
to  the  people  of  God,  and  to  the  ministers  of 
Christ's  Gospel.  And  my  heart  firmly 
resolved  and  vowed  to  spend  all  my  days  in 
the  service  of  God  my  Saviour. 

F.  1  do  not  know,  Benjamin,  that  I  need 
say  anything  more.  If  God  draws  you  to 
himself,  as  I  hope  he  has  begun  to  do,  you 
will  understand  these  things  in  another 
manner  than  you  can  now  by  any  descrip- 
tion. "  Oh,  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord 
is  good  ;  blessed  is  the  man,  that  trusteth  in 
him." 

M.  Was  not  my  dear  mother  pious  1  Is 
she  not  gone  to  heaven  1 

F.  I  hope  so,  my  dear  daughter.  I  believe 
she  was  a  true  Christian  from  her  youth. 


WS 


SALVATION.  59 

M.  How  old  was  she  when  she  joined  the 
Church  1 

F.  1  was  not  acquainted  with  her  then, 
but  I  have  heard  her  say  that  she  thought 
she  loved  Christ  when  she  was  a  little  child. 
But  she  was  not  permitted  to  go  to  the  Com- 
munion, till  she  was  fourteen  years  of  age. 

M.  Would  it  be  wrong  for  me  to  wisli 
that  she  would  pray  for  me,  now  she  is  in 
heaven  ] 

F.  We  read  nothing  in  the  Bible  of  de- 
parted saints  praying  for  their  friends  on 
earth.  We  know  not  whether  they  pray  at 
all.  All  their  work  is  to  praise.  But  you 
need  no  other  mediator  to  intercede  for  you 
but  Christ  only,  and  He  is  willing  to  be  your 
advocate  and  to  ask  God  to  forgive  your  sins, 
and  adopt  you  as  his  child. 

M.  Well,  father,  I  wish  to  be  a  Christian, 
and  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  often  been  a 
naughty  child.     I  hope  God  will  forgive  me. 


60  THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION. 

Do,  father,  pray  for  me,  and  for  us  all,  tha 
we  may  get  to  heaven  and  be  for  ever  with 
our  dear  mother — and  what  is  far  better,  be 
with  Christ    who  loved  us   better   than  any 
father  or  mother  could  do. 

[The  father  knelt  down  on  the  ground  and 
the  little  group  beside  him,  and  he  poured 
forth  the  effusions  of  a  full  and  paternal  heart 
in  behalf  of  his  beloved  children.] 


HYMNS. 


A  MORNING  HYMN. 

/JURIST,  whose  glory  fills  the  skies, 
^  Christ,  the  true,  the  only  light, 
Sun  of  righteousness,  arise. 
Triumph  o'er  the  shades  of  night; 
Day-spring  from  on  high  be  near, 
Day-star  in  my  heart  appear. 

Dark  and  cheerless  is  the  morn, 

Unaccompanied  by  thee ; 

Joyless  is  the  day's  return. 

Till  thy  mercy's  beams  I  see  : 

Till  thou  inward  light  impart, 

Glad  mine  eyes,  and  warm  my  heart. 

Visit  then  this  soul  of  mine. 
Pierce  the  gloom  of  sin  and  grief; 
Fill  me,  radiancy  divine, 
Scatter  all  my  unbelief; 
More  and  more  thyself  display, 
Shining  to  the  perfect  day. 


DIVINE  INFLUENCE. 

O  AVIOUR,  I  thy  word  believe, 
^    My  unbelief  remove  ; 
Now  thy  quickening  Spirit  give, 
The  unction  from  above :  (61) 


•«  HYMNS. 

Show  me,  Lord,  how  good  thou  art, 

My  soul  with  all  thy  fulness  fill, 
Send  the  witness,  in  my  heart 

The  Holy  Ghost  reveal. 

Blessed  Comforter,  come  down. 

And  live  and  move  in  me ; 
Make  my  every  deed  thine  own. 

In  all  things  led  by  thee : 
Bid  my  sins  and  fears  depart. 

And  with  me  O  vouchsafe  to  dwell; 
Faithful  witness,  in  my  heart 

Thy  perfect  light  reveal. 

Whom  the  world  cannot  receive, 

Lord,  manifest  in  me; 
Son  of  God,  I  cease  to  live. 

Unless  I  live  to  thee : 
Make  me  choose  the  better  part. 

Display  thy  love,  my  pardon  seal, 
Send  the  witness,  in  my  heart 

7'he  Holy  Ghost  reveal, 

RESTORING  AND   PRESERVING   GRAGS. 

A  H,  give  me,  Lord,  myself  to  see  ; 
-^  Against  myself  to  watch  and  pray. 
How  weak  am  I,  when  left  by  thee ! 
How  frail !  how  apt  to  fall  away ! 
If  but  a  moment  thou  withdraw, 
.That  moment  seee  me  break  thy  law 


HYMNS.  OJl 


Jesus,  the  sinner's  only  trust. 
Let  ine  now  feel  thy  grace  infused; 
Ah,  raise  the  fallen  from  the  dust, 
Nor  break  a  reed  already  braised  ; 
Smile  on  this  cheerless  heart  again, 
Nor  let  me  seek  thy  face  in  vain. 

liCt  thy  meek  mind  descend  on  me, 
Thy  Holy  Spirit  from  above  ; 
Assist  me.  Lord,  to  follow  thee. 
Drawn  by  th'  endearing  cords  of  love 
Made  perfect  by  thy  cleansing  blood, 
Completely  saved,  and  born  of  God. 


THE  MIND  OF  CHRIST. 

T  Or.D,  I  feel  a  carnal  mind. 
-*-'    That  hangs  about  me  still, 
Vaiiilj'^  though  \  strive  to  bind 

My  own  rebellious  will ; 
Is  not  haughtiness  of  heart 

The  gulf  between  my  God  and  me? 
Meek  Redeemer  now  impart 

Thine  own  humility. 

Fain  would  I  my  Lord  pursue 

Be  all  my  Saviour  taught, 
Do  as  Jesus  bids  me  do. 

And  think  as  Jesus  thought! 


64  HYMNS. 

But  'tis  thou  must  change  my  heart, 
The  perfect  gift  must  come  from  thee: 

Meek  Redeemer  now  impart 
Thine  own  humility. 

Lord,  I  cannot,  must  not  rest, 

Till  I  thy  mind  obtain, 
Chase  presumption  from  my  breast, 

And  all  thy  mildness  gain  ! 
Give  me,  Lord,  thy  gentle  heart. 

Thy  lowly  mind  my  portion  be, 
Meek  Redeemer  now  impart 

Thine  own  humility. 

Let  thy  cross  my  will  control, 

Conform  me  to  my  guide  ; 
In  thine  image  mould  my  soul, 

And  crucify  my  pride  ; 
Give  me,  Lord,  a  contrite  heart, 

A  heart  that  always  looks  to  thee: 
Meek  Redeemer  now  impart 

Thine  own  humility. 

Tear  away  my  every  boast. 

My  stubborn  mind  abase ; 
Saviour !  fix  my  only  trust 

In  thy  redeeming  grace: 
Give  me  a  submissive  heart, 

From  pride  and  self-dependence  free; 
Meek  Redeemer  now  impart 

Thine  own  humility! 


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